'Exhausted' polar bear found 700km from home in Russian village on Kamchatka Peninsula

“Due to climate change, the Arctic is getting warmer, hunting environment gets smaller and less convenient,” said Vladimir Chuprov of Greenpeace. “The ice is receding, and polar bears look for new ways to survive. And the easiest way is coming to people.” Locals were making the bear feel welcome, giving it fish, media reported.

Videos posted online showed the animal moving past residents, showing no aggression.

Authorities in Kamchatka were preparing a rescue effort later this week. They plan to use a sedative to put the bear to sleep and then airlift it to Chukotka in a helicopter.